Skip the Stuff

When it comes to changing the world, some things are easier to do than others.

The region has done some sweeping things with an eye toward the environment. After a few false starts, Southampton Town and East Hampton Town helped lead the way with a ban on plastic grocery bags, which eventually spread to Suffolk County, and, in 2020, to all of New York State. For a while, the idea that people might stop relying on free plastic bags and — horrors! — bring their own reusable bags to the grocery store seemed unreasonably ambitious. Today, it’s an afterthought for most of us, and the absence of discarded bags in our ecosystem is testament to the ban’s effectiveness.

That actually was a significant societal change. But East Hampton Village is leading the way on a new measure that’s so simple, so sensible that it should immediately be adopted by each local municipality.

The Surfrider Foundation is leading the charge on “Skip the Stuff,” a simple name for a simple policy: East Hampton Village adopted an ordinance in April requiring all restaurants and takeout food businesses to ask patrons if they want all the little items — plastic utensils, condiment packets, drink stirrers, coffee lids, napkins, straws — that often get thrown away unused.

That’s it. If you want a lid on your hot coffee, there’s no ban — you’ll get one. But if you’re going to walk away and throw it in the garbage (if you’re conscientious), it can stay on the stack for the next person. Such a simple measure, but it will reduce the flow of plastics and other trash into the waste flow, and, more importantly, off the beaches and streets, our out of local waters.

The policy acknowledges that single-use items have their place, and they can be useful, but far too often they are mere detritus, instant refuse. A simple question, “Do you need these?” will go a long way toward reducing their unnecessary distribution and waste.

“Small steps in the right direction can have effects beyond what all of us can imagine,” Lola Garneau, a senior at East Hampton High School, told the Village Board late last year in pitching the measure the board later approved. New York City adopted a similar measure last year, and many of the food delivery apps already have a check box to request utensils — and restaurants don’t add them if you don’t ask.

Suffolk County is already considering a similar measure — see how quickly a sensible, small step toward responsible behavior can gain momentum? But towns and villages shouldn’t wait for the county to act: It’s an easy way to make a big difference.